Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole (Vegan)

4.98 from 46 votes

Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole (Vegan)

This Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole recipe is a delicious Thanksgiving side dish! It's only sweetened with applesauce and is paleo, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free & sugar free!

Prep Time10

Cook Time30

Roasting Sweet Potatoes1

Total Time1 40

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free, Low Lactose, Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: servings

Author: Laura Sandford

Cost: $6

Equipment

Ingredients

2 pounds sweet potatoes
3 Tablespoons coconut oil (or butter)
1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 teaspoon fine sea salt (or to taste)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup chopped pecans

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Prepare The Sweet Potaotes

Preheat oven to 450°F (232°C).
Wrap sweet potatoes in aluminum foil or place in greased covered baking dish and bake in preheated oven until soft (about 1-1.5 hours). You can also cook them in a slow cooker, in the microwave or boil them!
Remove from oven, cut in half and let cool.
Remove skins and set sweet potatoes aside.

Make the Healthy Sweet Potato casserole

Reduce oven to 375°F (190°C)
Add apple sauce and sweet potatoes to the container of a blender, or food processor fitted with the S"S attachment and blend or process until smooth
Add melted coconut oil (or butter), cinnamon, salt and nutmeg and blend until combined.
Transfer to a 9” (23 cm) square baking dish and sprinkle the top with pecans.

Bake & Serve

Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 25-30 minutes until potatoes begin to slightly bubble and toping is lightly browned.
Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Video

Notes

Optional Topping Addition:

You can combine 2 Tablespoon granulated sugar with ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon and sprinkle it on top with the pecans if you want a little bit of extra sweetness.

Ingredient Substitution Notes

Coconut oil: Butter, vegan butter or ghee all work well in place of coconut oil.
Unsweetened apple sauce: Applesauce naturally sweetens the casserole without adding sugar. You can use store-bought unsweetened applesauce or homemade applesauce. If you want the casserole sweeter, you an use maple syrup, honey or brown sugar in place of the applesauce.
Cinnamon & nutmeg. These spices complement the natural sweetness of the sweet potatoes and give the casserole the warm fall flavor!
Pecans: chopped walnuts are a great substitute.

To Prepare in Advance (3 Ways)

Bake the sweet potatoes ahead of time. Bake the sweet potatoes 1-2 days in advance. Let them cool, then store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you're ready to assemble the casserole.
Assemble it the night before. Make the sweet potato filling and spread it into the baking dish, but don't add the pecans. Cover the dish and refrigerate overnight. When you're ready to bake, remove it from the refrigerator while the oven preheats, add the pecans and bake according to the recipe.
Bake and reheat. You can also make the entire casserole ahead of time and store it covered in the refrigerator. Reheat it, covered, in a warm oven until heated through. (this is my preferred method)!

Store

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Freeze

Freeze leftovers in an airtight container for up to 1 month. Thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat in the microwave or oven set to warm.

Or freeze the entire casserole by wrapping it in foil and putting it in the freezer. To reheat, warm in the oven set to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (177 degrees Celsius) until heated through. You may need to cover the top with foil if the pecans start browning.

Nutrition